Editing Yakuza (section)

=== Current situation ===
The number of yakuza members and quasi-members fell by about 70 percent in the 30 years between 1990, before the anti-yakuza law, and 2020, after the anti-yakuza laws and the yakuza exclusion ordinances took effect.<ref name="nhk300622"/>

With the addition of the employer liability clause in the 2008 amendment to the Anti-yakuza law, there have been a number of situations in which yakuza bosses have been held liable for crimes committed by members of the yakuza. For example, in a civil case, the [[Tokyo High Court]] held the head of [[Sumiyoshi-kai]] liable for a {{nihongo3|special fraud|特殊詐欺|[[#Current activities|tokushu sagi]]}} committed by members of Sumiyoshi-kai under the employer liability article of the Anti-yakuza law in 2021. As a result, Sumiyoshi-kai paid 652 million yen to the victims (approximately $6 million US dollars at the time), 35 million yen more than the amount of damages.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASP6M5DSMP6LUTIL07S.html|title=住吉会トップら6億円超支払う 詐欺被害上回る和解金|date=19 June 2021 |publisher=[[The Asahi Shimbun]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929230459/https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASP6M5DSMP6LUTIL07S.html|accessdate=11 May 2024|archive-date=29 September 2022}}</ref>

In criminal cases, [[Satoru Nomura|Nomura Satoru]] became the first {{nihongo|"designated yakuza"|指定暴力団|Shitei Bōryokudan}} boss to be [[Capital punishment in Japan|sentenced to death]] under the employer liability clause on 24 August 2021. Nomura was involved in one murder and assaults of three people. The presiding judge Adachi Ben of the Fukuoka District Court characterized the murders as extremely vicious attacks.<ref name="satoru">{{cite web |title=Yakuza boss is first ever to be sentenced to death in Japan |website=The Japan Story |url=http://live56today.com/yakuza-boss-is-first-ever-to-be-sentenced-to-in-japan/ |date=24 August 2021 |author=RJ Endra |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210825122106/http://live56today.com/yakuza-boss-is-first-ever-to-be-sentenced-to-in-japan/ }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sankei.com/article/20210824-X2XRJM7NVZPJ7DRJVS6L3ES7AQ/|title=捜査幹部「画期的な判決」 他の暴力団に影響も|language=ja|trans-title=Senior investigator: "Groundbreaking ruling" could have an impact on other gangs|date=24 August 2021 |publisher=[[Sankei Shimbun]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019175633/https://www.sankei.com/article/20210824-X2XRJM7NVZPJ7DRJVS6L3ES7AQ/|accessdate=11 May 2024|archive-date=19 October 2021}}</ref> On 12 March 2024, the Fukuoka High Court overturned Nomura's death sentence and downgraded it to life imprisonment. The High Court found him not guilty of murder.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Japanese high court overturns death sentence against yakuza gang leader |date=12 March 2024 |url=https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240312_11/ |access-date=12 March 2024 |publisher=NHK |language=en |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240312061323/https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240312_11/ |archivedate=12 March 2024}}</ref>

On top of the already staggering anti-yakuza legislation, Japan's younger generation may be less inclined to gang-related activity, as modern society has made it easier, especially for young men, to gain even semi-legitimate jobs such as ownership in bars and massage parlors and pornography that can be more profitable than gang affiliation - all while protecting themselves by abiding by the strict anti-yakuza laws.<ref name="apjjf.org">{{Cite web |title=21st-Century Yakuza: Recent Trends in Organized Crime in Japan ~Part 1 ２１ ―― |url=https://apjjf.org/2012/10/7/Andrew-Rankin/3688/article.html |access-date=2022-04-01 |website=The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus}}</ref>

Citizens who take a stronger stance seem to also have taken action that does not lead to violent reactions from the yakuza. In Kyushu, although store owners initially were attacked by gang members, the region has reached stability after local business owners banned known yakuza and posted warnings against yakuza entering their premises.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Citizens battle Kudo-kai yakuza gang to take back their streets {{!}} The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis |url=https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14429666 |access-date=2022-04-01 |website=The Asahi Shimbun |language=en}}</ref>